During summer, it’s no secret that we sometimes do let our animal companions swim for a while in the pool. However, not all pools are safe, especially for small animals.
Every summer, there are frogs, rabbits, and squirrels who drown in pools.
Rick Mason, wildlife biologist, invented FrogLog, which is a life-raft for animals to use to climb out of the pool. He said he was inspired to create this invention after his friend built an in-ground pool.
“In June of 2004, good friends of mine who lived on a heavily wooded near Baltimore, Maryland called me very upset and let me know that a huge number of frogs were dying in their recently built in-ground swimming pool,” Mason wrote on his website.
“One particular morning, after a warm rainy night, an astonishing 53 frogs and toads were found in the pool,” he added.
The FrogLog has an inflated platform, a mesh net for animals to climb onto, and another mesh-designed ramp that connects it to the side of the pool.
To test if his invention could actually help the poor small animals, he decided to place a funnel trap at the top of the FrogLog to catch the animals that were climbing out of the pool.
“The FrogLog was in the pool with the funnel trap for 23 days. During this period, 47 American toads (Bufo americanus) and 3 green frogs (Rana clamitans) were removed alive from the funnel trap,” he said. “During this brief test period, the FrogLog was 94% effective at allowing trapped amphibians to climb out of the pool.”
After that, he sold the device to other, and he said his mission is still the same after 15 years.
“As FrogLog has grown and as I have met many, many happy pool owners, my mission remains the same as when it started in 2004: Save as many small animals as possible and helping pool owners enjoy their pools to the fullest,” Mason said.
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